The present invention relates to electronic component packaging and testing. More particularly, it relates to an apparatus for loading tubes into a machine, the tubes typically contain electronic components and the machine typically performs high-volume packaging and/or testing of those components.
It is generally desirable for electronic components, such as integrated circuit devices, to be handled, tested, packaged, and distributed in bulk quantities. This is necessary to reduce costs and better accommodate high-volume assembly into larger electronic systems using automatic pick-and-place equipment. For example, in one popular high volume packaging technology, components are packaged within a reel of tape. A xe2x80x9ctape and reelxe2x80x9d machine receives the components at a feeder of the machine and, after optionally testing the components, inserts the components into a length of tape having pockets appropriately sized to receive the components. The tape pockets are sealed as components are secured within them, and the tape is then wound on a reel by the device. One such tape and reel machine is the Ismeca(trademark) MP-200 manufactured by Ismeca U.S.A. Inc. in Vista, Calif.
To feed electronic components into a high-volume packaging/testing machine such as the Ismeca MP-200, the components are first initially inserted into elongated plastic tubes appropriately sized to receive such components. The machine has a feeding system that typically includes a pair of guide rails capable of holding several tubes at once. The guide rails are a fixture of the machine and typically extend upwardlyxe2x80x94usually vertically, but in some cases at a lesser inclination. The lowermost tube in the guide rails lies in a feed-ready position for the machine, and each other tube within the guide rails rests on the one below it. During operation, the machine periodically pulls in the lowermost in the guide rails, and the remaining tubes then descend down the guide rails so that another tube is ready to be fed into the machine when needed. From each fed tube, the machine unloads the components from the tube before performing the necessary component testing and/or packaging. The feeding of tubes continues in this manner until the machine""s feeding system guide rails are empty. Exemplary tube feeding systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,862,578 and 6,071,067.
Due to the physical layout and size restrictions of most machines, the size of the feeder guide rails is limited and, in most cases, they are only able to hold a maximum of 40-50 tubes at one time. In addition, to limit the handling of electronic components by a loading technician and consequent potential damage to the components, components are generally inserted into tubes at a more appropriate work station area, before the tubes are transported to the machine and then loaded individually into the machine""s feeding system. As a result, the loading of tubes into a machine""s feeding system is typically a laborious task requiring a technician to make repeated trips between the work station and the machine. In addition, since in many cases the tubes do not have plugs at their ends, when a tube is transported by a technician from the loading station to the machine, components can easily slide out of the tube, fall and become damagedxe2x80x94even where a technician takes great care to keep the tube level during transport. Although in some cases plugs can be inserted at one or both ends of a tube to protect against the falling out of components, extra steps are required to insert the plugs. Moreover, since the feeding systems of many machines require that the tubes be plug-free, removing such plugs at a machine is a difficult and precarious task for a technician and risks further damage to components.
Furthermore, many packaging and testing machines (such as the Ismeca MP-200) have a door that needs to be opened to provide access to the feeding system during tube loading, but must be closed while the machine operates. In such cases, continuous loading is not possible since the tubes can only be loaded into the machine while it is not running. This undesirably results in lengthy loading delays during which the machine does not run.
Consequently, there is a need for an apparatus and method for facilitating the safe loading of tubes into packaging and/or testing machines and particularly for reducing the down-time of machines that must be turned off when tubes are being loaded.
The present invention provides a tube holder apparatus and tube loading method for facilitating the safe and rapid loading of tubes containing electronic components into a component packaging and/or testing machine. Since the tube holder of the present invention is portable, it is not permanently fixed to and is readily removable from the machine. Thus, instead of individually transporting and loading tubes at a machine, the portable tube holder of the present invention can be conveniently loaded with a relatively large number of tubes at a workstation area and then used to safely transport all of the tubes to a component packaging/testing machine without any risk of the components falling out of the tubes. Furthermore, the portable tube holder enables all of the tubes it holds to be readily released into the machine""s feeding system, thereby providing for rapid loading of the machine""s feeding system. In addition, since the portable tube holder can be loaded with tubes while the machine is running, costly down-time for machines that cannot run while being loaded is minimized.
The portable tube holder includes a tube guide sized to receive a plurality of tubes and a support that selectively holds the tubes in that guide. The portable tube holder also preferably has an interface that is designed to facilitate alignment of the tube holder""s guide with the feeding system guide of the packaging/testing machine. The interface may comprise feet, connected to the bottom of the tube guide, having bottom surfaces designed to dovetail (i.e., interlock) with walls of the feeding system guide of the machine.
In one embodiment, the guide comprises a frame having first and second ends, a first end guide rail connected to the first end of the frame, and a second end guide rail connected to the second end of the frame. More particularly, the frame of the guide may comprise a top frame member having first and second ends and a bottom frame member having first and second ends. In this case, the first end guide rail is connected between the first end of the top frame member and the first end of the bottom frame member, and the second end guide rail is connected between the second end of the top frame member and the second end of the bottom frame member.
The support preferably comprises a support slide having a frame and a cradle for supporting a lowermost tube in the tube guide (each of the remaining tubes in the tube guide rests on the one below it). Preferably, the support slide frame is slidably mounted to a center portion of the tube guide and the cradle extends from a location below the tube guide for each slidable position of the support slide. A clamp may be connected to the tube guide to selectively prevent sliding of the support slide when it is in a clamped position. Also, the support slide may include a handle connected to a top portion of the support slide frame. The handle enables sliding of the support slide to be manually controlled by a tube loading technician. In addition, one or more abutting members (e.g., blocks) may be connected to the guide frame, so that (in at least some positions of the slide frame) they are in contact with the support slide frame and provide frictional resistance against the movement of the support slide with respect to the guide.